Next Games’ Blade Runner 2049 mobile game is now out on the Play Store in a limited beta. The app is classified as unreleased, and many users will find that they can’t download it at the moment. Those that can will find that a previous closed beta test has been expanded upon through new content, some quality-of-life changes, and online play, among other things. The game is mostly still the same; it’s a turn-based RPG and criminal hunter simulator. At a basic level, the formula is pretty simple; you’ll get a contract, hunt down a rogue replicant, then either talk it down or fight it. If you fight, you can choose to end your opponent decisively, or spare them and hope they can find redemption. If that were all there was to it, this game would get boring pretty quickly, but there’s thankfully much more.
Along the course of the overarching plotline, you’ll hunt down numerous replicants and engage them in turn-based battles somewhat akin to the Press Turn system used in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. There are sidequests to fulfill, a living, breathing world to explore, and party members picked from among old favorites in the Blade Runner universe to recruit. You can also team up with other players in real time, fighting side by side. You can work together and form resistance cells, eventually allowing you to cooperate on hunts for high-level replicants that individual players may have a hard time with or be unable to access entirely.
Fans of the classic Blade Runner movie that started it all will find plenty to love here, as will fans of the more modern Blade Runner 2049 film. Even if you’re not into either of those, if you enjoy cyberpunk, noir, or deep, story-based RPGs with turn-based battle systems, you’ll want to give this mobile game a try. Since it’s curently in a limited beta release, it’s quite possible that you won’t be able to download it. If that’s the case, just try again every now and then. When it eventually does come out of beta, it will likely be available for anybody with a compatible device.
